Journaling for Men: Why you must be a different man each year

Before we rap about the importance of journaling for men, have you ever hear the following statement?:

“If you’re not a socialist by the time you’re twenty,
it’s because you have no heart

If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re forty it’s
because you have no brain.”

This quote has been passed on by many leaders and thinkers, but politics aside, what it presents us with is the need for continuous evolution.

To be the same person you were five years ago (or further back) means you likely aren’t pushing yourself hard enough in life.

Now when I say you shouldn’t be the same person, I‘m not talking about a drastic Anakin-to-Darth transformation here.

What I’m saying is that we will all go to the grave as imperfect souls…

…and that striving to get as close to perfection (which we‘ll thankfully never obtain) is what makes it all worth it.

How to Achieve Incremental Success

So then – ask yourself: what are you still not happy with in your life?

What is it that must absolutely change for you to wake up a little happier?

Let’s say you’d like to straighten your posture.

You realize that slouching will inevitably lead to you partially crippling yourself in your later years.

That goal is the destination.

Running a timer that goes off every 15 minutes to alert you to check how you’re sitting.

Wearing a weightlifting belt to straighten up your back is is also a tool that’ll take you to the destination.

However, journaling is the gas your vehicle needs.

Without the gas, your chances of reaching the bottom of the tank before you get to the destination are infinitely higher.

Far too often is the case that men see journaling as a chronicle of what happened throughout the day.

Sure, it could serve that purpose.

However, when used a tracking tool to observe how you’re improving yourself, it becomes indispensable.

Personally, I’ve used journaling on-and-off over the years, but never really stuck with it.

I mean, it can be as challenging a habit to adopt as any other.

However, I needed a way to keep my mental closet as clutter-free as possible so that I could channel my thoughts productively.

At first, I was doing it every day…and a full year later, I’ve settled on using journaling 3 to 4 times a week as opposed to 3 to 4 months at a time.

When I switched up and picked a few essential goals to focus on, and using my journal to keep track of my progress and little else, doing it everyday became easy.

Examples of Easy Journaling:

Let’s make up a sample page – this page will be repeated every day of the year.

Now, how about we assume that you want to read a book a week, add two inches to your biceps and write three articles a day.

For the reading, you’d track the following on a daily basis:

1. Number of pages read (takes 50/day to complete a book in a week)
2. Time spent reading (should take about a minute per page)
3. Notes (are you noticing that you’re starting to read faster? Did you have to drop a book?)

Next, the biceps:

1. Present size of biceps.
2. How much work did you put in at the gym?
3. What are you eating?
4. Notes: Jot down anything that is unusual here.

Finally, the writing:

1. How many words did you write?
2. Time it took to research and write your pieces.
3. Notes: What techniques are you using to increase productivity?

That‘s perfectly enough for me.

Who knows – it might just be enough for you.

Ready to give it a shot?

Journaling For Men: Resources

Standard Bullet Journal

How to Use a Bullet Journal

The “Bible” for Journaling

The Miracle Morning

If you do take up this challenge and it leads to significant improvements in your life, don’t hesitate to send those results in.

They’ll be published so you can revel in the humble brag of your achievements.